Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1325 He Jian (Twelve)

April 1662, 11, sunny.

On the broad Paraná River, six 72-ton small steamers belonging to the Inland River Transport Company are lined up and going upstream.They had just passed the mouth of the Rio de la Plata at this time, and the Spanish officers and soldiers who had set up forts on the islands in the estuary watched helplessly as these merchant ships flying the flag on the east bank marched upwards, and did not take any action-although they had not yet obtained Buenos Aires. Ellis officially released the permission for the ships on the east bank, but in line with the principle that more things are worse than less things, these Spanish mercenaries ignored them. After all, the people on the east bank across the river gave them a lot of beer from time to time. Enjoy it with wine, why bother with money, it is completely unnecessary.

The six ships stopped at the future port of Constanta, Argentina. Wang Dali, who had been promoted to the vice minister of the Ministry of Geology, took a group of students and set foot on the river bank full of reeds and weeds.This is a rare low-lying place on the east bank of the Paraná River (that is, the inter-river area). The wharf of "One Cannon" (of course, you need to pay extra to the Spaniards) is used to store coal and fresh water to facilitate the replenishment of passing ships.

The Port of Constanza is very close to the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, and it's only a day's voyage if it's full.The reason why the supply point is located so close is actually helpless. Who makes the geographical environment here more painful?

As we all know, the Parana River is actually formed by the confluence of the Upper Parana River and the Paraguay River. The water of the two rivers and the bright red water of the Bermejo River blend and mix at the "three river mouths". Argentina) and other large islands.Not far below the port of Corrientes, the river is about 8 kilometers wide, and the geographical environment on the east and west banks is very different-the east bank of the river is mostly continuous from Corrientes to the city of Diamante. The high cliffs, the main road often approached the cliffs, but the high drop made it difficult to build a wharf; the west bank of the river was low and flooded periodically, but it was suitable for building a wharf. Later generations of the Paraná River in Argentina Most of the port cities of this section are also located on the west bank.

Since the Spaniards have many cities on the west bank of the Paraná River, they naturally refused to allow the people on the east bank to build coal and water stations on the west bank. Build coal and water supply stations in some rare low-lying places (such as the Port of Constanta).But in the large and large sections of the cliff river, there is no other way. We can only find a way to build coal water stations on some small islands in the river to provide supplies for passing ships. Although this may not be safe during the flood season, this There is no other good way but to do this.

"Let's set up a supply station here, or we can move some people to grow vegetables and food. Well, according to the naming list provided by the Government Affairs Council, this place is called Baoyi Port." Speaking of which, there are already more than 20 people. Wang Dali, who has a grandson and granddaughter, also gave a rare mischievous smile, and said: "I have this power, and the feeling of opening up the map is really good."

At this time, there was a fishy wind blowing on the river. Wearing leather boots, Wang Dali walked twice on the soft grass, and then said to the students: "This is a typical delta area of ​​the Paraná River. Spaniards Neglect of development - or inability to develop - we can't be left behind. I heard that the State Development Bureau has followed the suggestion of the Ministry of Agriculture and plans to set up multiple reclamation sites in the Paraná River Delta to encourage domestic The residents moved here to occupy the land, making preparations for our East China Republic to fully annex this large and fertile land in the future."

Wang Dali said that the Paraná River delta starts near the city of Diamante, where the Paraná River is seven kilometers wide, with wide islands and wetlands on the east side of the mainstream, and wide islands and wetlands on the west side south of Lake Coronda. low lying areas.The Paraná River is very branched here, forming many forks, such as the Paraná Pavon River, the Paraná Ibiqui River, the Paranadero River, the Paraná de Palmas River, the Paraná The Naguasu River, the Paranamini River, the Paranabravo River, etc., all of these rivers have deep riverbeds, so the shipping industry can be developed very conveniently, which is beneficial to the residents of the east coast who cross the border. It should be a big plus.

And in order not to overly stimulate the newly established Buenos Aires Prosecution Court District in Spain (this means that La Plata and Paraguay have become independent from the Chalkas Prosecutor Court District), the East The shore people did not choose to colonize along the Paraná de Palmas River, but instead focused on the cross-border reclamation on the Paranaguasu River. Anyway, it is directly connected to Jingjiang Port on the bank of the Wujiang River, and the transportation is very convenient.

The flat terrain of the Paraná delta, bounded by the hills of the province of Entre Ríos to the north and the undulating pampa plateau to the south, has very different natural characteristics.The area adjacent to the Pampas in the south of the delta in later generations was very densely populated, which is enough to explain how prosperous this place is, and it is the first choice for people from the east bank to cross-border reclamation in the southern area of ​​the river.

A while ago, the National Development Bureau of the East Bank relocated more than 1000 native-born second-generation citizens to settle in the Paraná River Delta.Although the terrain here is higher than that of the West Bank, they and some non-national laborers who have been regularized are still under the supervision of government officials. The conditions are related to the fact that the opposite bank is the fertile Wujiang River area - many Zonggang terrains have been built, and reclamation and planting have gradually begun.

The early days of reclamation were naturally extremely difficult. The harsh natural environment, the attacks of the surviving natives, the hard work, and the threat of floods hanging over their heads (although the floods flooded on the West Bank most of the time), all tortured every reclamationist. And fragile nerves.Fortunately, the people on the east coast were introduced by Captain Alatrist and managed to deal with some Spanish mercenary officers in the southern part of Hejian, so the external environment was not bad, at least there were no Spanish officials who didn't have good eyesight to make trouble.

According to Wang Dali, people from the east bank have established Baoping Township in Paranacito Township and Guanghua Township near the town of Ceibas. In the future, the three settlements (including the upcoming Baoyi Port) will be arranged in an equilateral triangle, each with residents ranging from a few hundred to a thousand.Among them, Guanghua Township in the north is okay, and the settlers of Baoyi Port and Baoping Township located by the river may have to consider the issue of flood control when they are building. The buildings along the river are all "houses on water", that is, the residents think that even with the help of the terrain, the built Zonggang can only resist the general flood, but it still cannot get rid of the flood brought by the largest flood of the Paraná River. Hazard possible.Therefore, under the organization of government officials, people took local materials and built a large number of water houses on wooden piles. It happened that there were very rich timber resources in the local area, which provided the residents with cheap and main building materials. ,very good.

"Teacher, how will the economy of the Parana River Delta develop in the future? This place is densely covered with forests, criss-crossed by rivers, and there are enough animals and plants, but it is also desolate enough. Fortunately, the traffic conditions are not bad, Parana All the branches of the river can be navigated by large ships with a deep draft, and the connection with the local area will not be weak. This is probably the only advantage, right? I really can’t find any other bright spots besides this.” The student looked at the wild scenery around him, and asked a question.

"Hehe, that's the Ministry of Agriculture's business. Why does our geological department take care of so much?" Wang Dali, who broke a willow branch and dangled it in his hand, rolled his eyes at the student, laughed, and said, "But it's not that we can't get along with you." Tell me, the economy of the Paraná River Delta will still be dominated by specialized agriculture in the future. First, the climate and soil here are conducive to agricultural production (although there is a possibility of flood damage); secondly, despite the The delta is located at a temperate latitude, but the climate here is very suitable for the growth of subtropical fruit trees, because the pervasive humidity expels—or at least greatly alleviates—the frost disasters that are prone to occur at this latitude. In addition, Bala The huge flow of water brought by the river from the upper tropics also caused this meteorological restriction, especially during the flowering period of the fruit trees, and the impact was even greater-of course it was a positive positive impact."

"Therefore, I once gave such a trick to the people of the Ministry of Agriculture, that is, to vigorously develop orchards and vegetable planting on the Paraná River Delta-well, the planting range is limited to the modified mane hill terrain-the past The demand for these commodities by ships and personnel should be considerable. And once there are basic flood control facilities, such as Zonggang, during the flood season, if there is no flood, even if there is, as long as it is not too excessive, the overflow flood It can also flow into the depressions and swamps in Zonggang and stay there for a period of time, which is also a resource that can be used." Wang Dali continued to say with a smile: "And I also suggest that we should vigorously plant citrus fruits. It does not conflict with the types of fruits to be developed in the Southern Cone region. How wonderful! Now our country has a population of more than 100 million, and people's consumption capacity is not low. It is time to produce more meat, fish, eggs, milk, fruits, Commodities such as sugar, tobacco, wine, and tea have delighted our people. The development of these specialized agriculture in the Paraná River delta is unmistakable. Now it depends on whether the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Agriculture accept my opinion. I hope they can wake up Come on, after all, it is not easy for the pioneers, and increasing their income can also encourage more people to emigrate, right?"

In fact, after gaining a lot of experience in agricultural production in swamps and wet areas in the Baishuidian area, the agricultural technicians of the East Coast Republic now have a lot of experience in how to overcome the flood disasters during the flood season and make the most of the transformed Zonggang terrain.For example, farmers in the Baishuidian area planted many aquatic crops in the Zonggang depression during the flood season (a large amount of floodwater flows in, and it usually takes several weeks or even two months to stagnate in it before being evaporated), and then sell them to the city. Obtained a lot of income.

In addition, it has to be mentioned that many times the Parana River Basin not only does not experience floods, but also produces some dry weather.At this time, the fresh water resources in Zonggang can ensure that the drinking water of the livestock raised by the farm is not restricted.The experience of the Baishuidian area has clearly shown that if a dam and sea reclamation protection project like the one in the United Provinces is built, then the area of ​​land that can be developed in the area can be increased exponentially-later Argentines are in Paraná It is very telling that this type of agricultural model has been pioneered and has been widely successful on many islands in the delta (Masaluca, Leziguana, etc.).

On November 1662, 11, Wang Dali and others arrived at the land sandbar opposite the later town of Constitucion, and buried a stone sign here, indicating that a wharf would be built here to provide ships with Coal service.This time, Wang Dali carried forward his bad taste again and named it Port of Baosai (later, he will need to go to the east bank and Buenos Aires to register and file, and Spanish officials will also check the area and type of the coal water station in the future. Whether the system exceeds the standard), enjoy the fun of map expansion.

In this place, there are actually many Spanish villages or towns on the other side of the Paraná River.Similar to the other side of the Paraná delta, almost all traffic here is by river.Whether it is transporting passengers, fruits, wood or other things, it is done by a large number of boats that shuttle back and forth in the river. The boat is almost the only means of transportation for the residents here (of course this may be exaggerated), and all residents All have large or small boats and rafts to meet the needs of transportation, which can be seen.

In the following period of time, Wang Dali and others inserted two steles near the ports of Diamante and Esquina in later generations, indicating that these will be the places where coal water stations will be built in the future, and named them respectively. For Weirong Port and Zhenrong Port-I don’t know if the Spaniards will go crazy and curse for them after knowing the actual meaning of these names.

On December 1662, 12, several ships arrived near the later city of Bellavista. Wang Dali and others buried a stone tablet here as usual and named it Wuxin Port.From here, the Paraná River entered the Corrientes section, which can be divided into three distinct sections. The upper section is a long strip of swamp, which occupies a considerable part of the process; the middle section has two riverbeds, large and small. , the big river bed is a very open valley, the river flows in the small river bed, and generally only in the flood season, it will overflow the small river bed; the lower section is relatively short, but the river bed is deep, which is good for navigation.

After December 12, several ships continued northward and eastward, and entered the Upper Paraná River Basin.Wang Dali and others continued to expand the map, and set up a coal water station near the small town of Itati in later generations, and named it Wuping Port.And from Wuping Port to Hexing Port further upstream (this is a real settlement, which is essentially different from the previous coal water stations that are only the size of "one-shot land"), it is only two or three days' voyage, so far , the more than 2 nautical miles from the mouth of the Rio de la Plata to Puerto Iguazu are all connected in series.

With the supply of these coal water stations and settlements all over the left bank of the Paraná River, the ships on the east bank no longer need to carry a large amount of fuel or coal carriers, and the transportation capacity has been greatly improved (the safety has also been greatly improved) , which is of great significance for the development of newly acquired land along the upper Paraná River.Moreover, in the eyes of some "dark psychological" people, with this series of strongholds, the people on the east coast almost also vaguely associate the fertile "Mesopotamian land" in the river area with Lapla. Most of the remaining areas of the tower were separated, and the tendency to collect it into their own pockets was quite obvious—at most, they would send some money to the Spanish beggars for compensation in the future, and I believe they would not refuse.

It is conceivable that once the people on the east coast rely on these strongholds to spread inland—it is almost inevitable—and then when the Spanish Kingdom and the East China Republic break out in an armed conflict, those stationed in the area between the rivers will soon be in arrears. After a year of mercenaries defecting again, the Spaniards can basically say goodbye to the river region forever overnight. This is not a sensational bad joke, but a very likely fact!

(End of this chapter)